What Will a Second Trump Presidency Mean for the Auto Industry and Car Buyers?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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How might Trump's tariff plans affect car prices and consumer costs?
I'm J.R. Whelan for The Wall Street Journal. Sticker shock for US car buyers got a little stickier last month. The prices for used cars and trucks rose a seasonally adjusted 2.7% from a month earlier. President-elect Donald Trump's proposal to impose broader tariffs as a way to decrease imports and create US factory jobs could result in consumers having to dig deeper for a new set of wheels.
There's a concern that this could lead to higher prices at a time that prices have already been elevated at record heights for a few years since the pandemic.
We'll talk to Wall Street Journal reporter Ryan Felton after the break.
How has Washington's policy 'ping-pong' between administrations shaped automaker planning?
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The upcoming Trump administration is expected to have a direct impact on the U.S. auto industry and consumers in the market for a new car. Wall Street Journal reporter Ryan Felton joins me. Ryan, leadership in Washington over the past decade has bounced between Democrats and Republicans.
Could tariffs on Mexico prevent Chinese-made EVs from entering the U.S. market?
What impact has that had on the car industry and consumers?
Car companies take a very long time to develop and decide what cars they're going to make and sell in a particular marketplace. When the government is ping-ponging between administrations and deciding Each time it flips to adjust things like vehicle tailpipe emissions or fuel economy standards, which dictate how many miles a car should go on a single gallon of gas, just makes it much more challenging to settle in on what type of cars to bring to market.
President-elect Trump made imposing tariffs on several countries a hallmark of his campaign. How could those impact consumers?
The main thing that comes up time and again is if you charge more on the cost of goods to bring those goods into the country, it's just going to trickle down to the consumers. There's a concern that among some of the industry that this could lead to higher prices at a time that prices have already been elevated at record heights for decades.
What would making auto loan interest tax-deductible mean for car buyers?
A few years since the pandemic, it's just coming at a time as well when they are trying to figure out how fast to go toward making more electric cars and just kind of throwing another cost on top of that kind of complicates things a bit further.
Trump has mentioned Mexico in particular that could potentially be on the receiving end of tariffs. How does that factor into the car industry?
One of the biggest things and why tariffs coming out of Mexico is probably being considered the most is just there is this looming consideration of Chinese-owned firms setting up shop in Mexico, where if you build a car and then import it over because of the trade pact between the countries, it's not as expensive as if you were to ship the car over from China. It just leaves open the possibility that these Chinese EV manufacturers, which already produce
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:53
2
How might Trump's tariff plans affect car prices and consumer costs?
0:53–1:42
3
How has Washington's policy 'ping-pong' between administrations shaped automaker planning?
1:42–2:37
4
Could tariffs on Mexico prevent Chinese-made EVs from entering the U.S. market?
2:37–3:44
5
What would making auto loan interest tax-deductible mean for car buyers?
3:44–6:16
6
How are automakers preparing to defend EV tax credits and battery plant incentives?
6:16–8:44
Speakers
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